


What Did You Promise Me Again?

by genderfluid_whizzvin



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Fake Dating, M/M, in which jeremy has a million siblings, jer hates the squip at first, the squip has a kink for jeremy saying he's perfect
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-10-01 15:31:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17246744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/genderfluid_whizzvin/pseuds/genderfluid_whizzvin
Summary: Over the phone a few days ago, Jeremy’s mom had asked if he had finally started dating someone yet, and he spat out a lie before he could even process what was happening. But he couldn’t back out, so now both of his parents thought he had a boyfriend.So now he had to find a boyfriend. He called every guy he knew, who all had the same answer - “I’m sorry, Jeremy, I can’t.”Finally, he had one last name to call; one he had been hoping he would have never had to.He took a deep breath, pressed his finger to the screen, and held the phone up to his ear.“Hey..I need your help.”





	1. Chapter 1

“Oh, Jeremy, I’m so excited to see you!”   
  
Jeremy winced, pulling the phone away as his mother shrieked into his ear.   
  
“Yeah, me too,” he replied.    
  
“Your father, too. We’re so excited to have you stay over. We’ve missed you so much, ever since you went off to college.” Jeremy heard her take a deep breath. “You’ve grown up so fast. Oh! And we’re so, so excited to meet this  _ boyfriend _ of yours!”   
  
Jeremy swallowed thickly. “R..right. My boyfriend.”   
  
“You’re leaving us in such suspense, you know. You won’t even tell us his name?”   
  
“I told you, it’s a surprise. He’ll tell you when you meet him.”   
  
“Oh, all right. Well, I know you’re busy. See you in a couple of days!”   
  
“Bye, Mom.”   
  
Jeremy hung up the phone and dropped his head onto his desk, heaving a sigh.    
  
He didn’t have a boyfriend. Over the phone a few days ago, Jeremy’s mom had asked if he had finally started dating someone yet, and he spat out a lie before he could even process what was happening. But he couldn’t back out, so now both of his parents thought he had a boyfriend.    
  
So now he had to find a boyfriend.    
  
He scrolled through his contact list until he reached Michael. Michael was his best friend - surely he could help him out.    
  
“Hello, this is Jeremy Heere,” Michael said as he picked up.    
  
“Uh, no, this is Jeremy Heere,” Jeremy said with a smile.    
  
“Oh? Then who am I?”   
  
“I think your name is Michael Mell, but I’m not really sure anymore.”   
  
Michael laughed. “What’s up, bud?”   
  
Jeremy hesitated. “I’m..let’s call it a pickle. I’m in a pickle.”   
  
“Care to explain?”   
  
Jeremy leaned back, running a hand through his hair as he spoke. “I told my parents I have a boyfriend when I don’t, and now they expect me to bring him along when I stay over at their house next week.”   
  
“That is a pickle. What do you want me to do?”   
  
“I was thinking..maybe you could pretend to be my boyfriend?”   
  
Michael went quiet for a few seconds before saying, “Sorry, man, I can’t help you. Your parents already know me. They’ll think it’s weird that you didn’t say it was me. Plus, I’m your best friend. I don’t want to be anything more, even if it’s just pretend.”   
  
Jeremy sighed and nodded. “Yeah, that totally makes sense. That’s okay. Thanks anyways.”   
  
“Good luck.”   
  
Michael hung up and Jeremy continued looking through his contact list. He called Rich and Jake, who both said they were dating each other but wished him luck. He called Christine, suggesting she act as a boy. She had said the offer was tempting but she didn’t want to risk getting in trouble with Jeremy’s parents. He called every other guy he knew, who all had the same answer - “I’m sorry, Jeremy, I can’t.”   
  
Finally, he had one last name to call; one he had been hoping he would have never had to.    
  
He took a deep breath, pressed his finger to the screen, and held the phone up to his ear.   
  
“Hey..I need your help.”   
  
  
————————   
  
  
“And what did you promise me again?”   
  
Jeremy sat in his car, fingers tightly gripping the steering wheel as he drove to his parent’s house. His eyes were narrowed, his body tense.    
  
Next to him was the least likely person to agree to act as his boyfriend who had somehow managed to be the only person to agree. They went to high school together, and Jeremy had despised him the whole time. He always seemed..perfect.  _ Too _ perfect. He was popular, athletic, smart, attractive...It was like he lacked flaws in any area. And Jeremy hated that someone could effortlessly be so much better than him while he struggled his way to the top. The only reason Jeremy had his phone number was because Jeremy was trying to be Cool, and it was Cool to have phone numbers.    
  
Jeremy glanced over at him, with his neat black hair and breathtaking blue eyes and slick smirk, his grip on the wheel tightening.    
  
“I said I would do anything you wanted,” Jeremy said through gritted teeth.    
  
The Squip grinned and gave a little hum of satisfaction, training said breathtaking blue eyes on Jeremy’s face. “Anything, huh?”   
  
“We need to think of a backstory,” Jeremy blurted, eager to change the subject. “How we met. Also, you’re going to use your school name, right?”   
  
During high school, the Squip had gone by Jason. Jeremy didn’t know where his real name had come from, but he decided it would be smarter not to ask.    
  
“Don’t worry, Jeremy, I can handle all of that.”   
  
Jeremy eyed him as they pulled into the driveway. “You better not mess this up. I’m trusting you.”   
  
The Squip flashed him a smile. “I won’t.” As they left the car and started up to the front door, the Squip asked, “Who all am I meeting today?”   
  
“My mom, my dad, my two siblings, my sister, and my brother.” Jeremy raised a fist, rapping on the door.    
  
“Jeremy!” His mother had opened the door. She pulled him into a tight hug, and he responded with a few awkward pats to her back. Behind her stood his father, who was looking at the Squip, sizing him up. Jeremy’s mom pulled the two inside, looking over at the Squip. “And this must be the boyfriend!”   
  
The Squip extended a hand. “Jason. Nice to meet you.” Mr. Heere shook his hand and smiled.    
  
“Strong handshake,” he observed. “I bet that’s useful for more than shaking hands.” He looked over at Jeremy and winked, who covered his face.    
  
“God, Dad, why would you say that?” he groaned.    
  
Mr. Heere laughed as Mrs. Heere took her turn to shake the Squip’s hand. “I’m just kidding. Relax.”   
  
“Oh my gosh, Jeremy!” a voice yelled, and one of Jeremy’s siblings crashed into him, hugging him with a big grin on their face. Jeremy smiled and hugged back. The sibling had short, messy brown hair with streaks of rainbow-colored dye, turning the usually simple brown hair color into something much more. They were tall, almost as tall as Jeremy, and wore blue jeans paired with a striped pink and blue top. “We’ve missed you so much! Is college hard? Did you make new friends? Is there still theatre in college? Have you-“ They cut themself off when they spotted the Squip. “Oh my gosh, is this your boyfriend? He looks like a character my boyfriend likes.” They turned back to Jeremy and said in a very loud, conspicuous whisper: “He’s cute!”   
  
On the couch across the room, a girl around the same age sat Indian-style reading a large book. She had long brown hair and orange glasses, wearing some sort of anime t-shirt and dark blue shorts. She set down the book and waved in their general direction. “Hey, Jeremy.”   
  
A small boy ran into the room, with bright orange hair and freckles littering his face, holding an IPad high above his head. He wore a turquoise t-shirt and black jeans. Running after him was a child somewhere between his age and the other two’s, with chin-length black hair and dark green eyes narrowed to complete their angry wolf look. They were dressed in a dark green t-shirt, a jean jacket, dark blue jeans, and a gold key necklace. “Sam, give it back!” they yelled. The younger boy spun around and stuck out his tongue.    
  
“Only if you can catch me!”   
  
“Jay, make him give it back!”   
  
The girl at the couch glanced over at the scene and gave the boy a disapproving look, who, in response, gasped loudly before returning the IPad to the angry teenager.    
  
Jeremy turned to the Squip. “This is Avery,” he said, gesturing to the sibling with the rainbow colored hair. “The one at the couch is Jay, the little one is Sam, and the one chasing him is Cameron. Avery and Jay are in high school, Cameron is in middle school, and Sam is in elementary.”   
  
Cameron and Sam both turned to Jeremy, as if finally realizing he was there. “Jeremy!” Cameron said, their eyes lighting up. “Hi!”   
  
“Hi.”   
  
Sam ran over, hopping up and down with his arms stretched out. Jeremy bent down and hugged him. “We missed you! You’re so old now!”   
  
“You’re old, too,” Jeremy said. “You must be..thirteen by now!”   
  
Sam giggled. “I’m only nine! You’re so silly.” He looked over at the Squip. “Are you Jeremy’s boyfriend?” The Squip smiled and nodded and Sam said, “Does that mean I’ll have another brother soon?”   
  
Jeremy laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. “Woah, let’s not jump to conclusions..”   
  
Cameron came over and tugged on Jeremy’s sleeve. “Mom wants everyone to go to the table. She spent, like, hours making food for us.”   
  
Jeremy stood up and they made their way over to the table. It looked like a feast - the entire table was covered with steaming food.    
  
“Thanks, Mom,” Cameron said as they all sat down. The rest of the kids quickly followed that with a “yeah, thanks, Mom.” Jeremy tried to sit between Jay and Avery, but Mrs. Heere caught him.   
  
“Jeremy, don’t you want to sit next to your boyfriend?”   
  
“Oh..right.” Jeremy quickly moved over and sat down next to the Squip. “I guess it was just a habit.”   
  
Mrs. Heere uncovered the food and everyone started to eat. “So, how did you two meet?” Jeremy felt butterflies appear in his stomach, and he opened his mouth to speak, but the Squip saved him.    
  
“We met in high school, actually,” he said.    
  
“Oh? How come Jeremy never talked about you?” Mrs. Heere asked.    
  
“I don’t think he liked me in the beginning,” the Squip said with a good-natured smile. Jeremy swallowed, and the food in his throat felt heavy. How did he know that? “But I’m okay with that, because look where we are now.” He looked over at Jeremy and smiled at him, and Jeremy couldn’t believe how easily he was doing this. It was effortless, like everything else in his life. Jeremy forced a half-smile.    
  
“So you’re in college, right, Jason?” Mr. Heere asked.    
  
“Yes, sir.” Jeremy saw him sit up straighter. Was he actually trying to make a good impression? “I’m working to become a surgeon.” Jeremy’s eyebrows raised. If he was telling the truth, Jeremy was already impressed.    
  
Mrs. Heere seemed impressed, too. “Wow, a surgeon! That pays well, to say the least.” She looked over at Jeremy and smiled brightly. “You must be happy about that.”   
  
“Oh, yeah. Totally. But, I mean, I don’t need to rely on th- Jason. I’m going to be making money myself.”   
  
At the other end of the table, Sam snorted. “Did he just say ‘The Jason’?” Jay shushed him.    
  
“Of course, honey,” Mrs. Heere said softly. “It’s just that a surgeon pays..considerably more than an author. The arts are always risky. It’s just nice to have money you can rely on.”   
  
“I guess.” Jeremy crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.    
  
“Did you make this all yourself, Mrs. Heere?” The Squip asked. When she nodded in response, he said, “It’s all really good. I should help you cook sometime while we’re staying here.”   
  
Mrs. Heere’s eyes went even wider. “You cook, too? Gosh, is there anything you can’t do?” And they both laughed. Jeremy wanted to throw up at how absurd it was. The Squip was doing an amazing job at convincing everyone. Even Jeremy was starting to believe the lie that he himself had concocted.   
  
“Oh, The Jason! I have a question for you,” Sam called from across the table. Before Jeremy could tell him his name wasn’t “The Jason,” Sam asked, “What’s your favorite video game?”   
  
“That’s such a tough question, Sam. There’s no way I can pick just one. I like all of them.”   
  
Sam’s eyes lit up. “Me, too!”   
  
“Ooh, I want to ask him a question!” Avery said. “What’s your favorite musical?”   
  
“Definitely Hamilton. Without a doubt.”   
  
Avery clasped a hand over their chest. “A man after my own heart.”   
  
“Don’t you have a boyfriend?” Jeremy asked.    
  
“Isn’t your line supposed to be, ‘hands off, he’s mine’?” Avery countered.    
  
“Yeah, Jer,” the Squip said teasingly, “I’m offended. Maybe I’ll leave you for Avery.”   
  
At the nickname and his smile, Jeremy felt a twist in his stomach that could only be described as hatred. He looked away as he felt his cheeks heat up with anger.    
  
“Ooh, scandalous,” Avery said with a laugh. Jeremy rolled his eyes.    
  
“You two should pursue comedy. You’d be quite the duo.”   
  
Dinner seemed to drag on, everyone asking the Squip questions and the Squip answering with a big, never-wavering smile. Even after everyone was done eating, they continued talking while Jeremy sat slumped with his head in his hands. He never understood why people took so long to talk during dinner. He thought they should talk until everyone was done eating, and that would be it.   
  
When everyone was finally done, Jeremy hopped up from the table, eager to go to his room and spend some alone time.    
  
“Jeremy, do you think you two will fit in your old room?” Mrs. Heere asked before Jeremy could leave.   
  
“Huh?” Jeremy spun around, frowning. “Two?”   
  
Mrs. Heere smiled, looking over at the Squip. “Well, of course! You are going to sleep with your boyfriend, aren’t you?”   
  
Jeremy followed her gaze to the Squip, who was wearing a subtle smirk that only Jeremy could see. He swallowed thickly.   
  
“Oh..right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first Squipemy fanfiction!! Feedback would be greatly appreciated. What do you want to see in the next chapter? What did you enjoy? Stuff like that would be great. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Look. If we’re going to pretend to be dating, you can’t completely hate me. I’m not saying we have to be best friends, but we have to be at least a little bit closer so our fake relationship is more convincing.” Jeremy took a shallow breath, the skin on his face almost overwhelmingly hot. “That’s all I was trying to do. Does that make sense?”
> 
> “Y-yeah.” Jeremy nodded slowly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys asked for only one bed and I delivered ;3

Jeremy trudged up the stairs and down the hall until he reached his old room, hyper-aware of the body next to him. “Here it is,” he murmured unenthusiastically as he pushed open the door. He was dreading the Squip seeing his old room.

He pushed open the door and they both stepped in. It was much cleaner than Jeremy had left it - before, clothes had been strewn about and spilling out of drawers, and he had long given up on trying to keep his bed nice. Now, his floor was spotless, his bed was made, and everything was put in its place. The walls were decorated with posters, most of which Michael had put up and wouldn’t let Jeremy take them down, as well as a bunch of drawings from both of them. His desk was in the corner near the door, and his old laptop sat on it. He had decided not to take it to college because it was  _way_  too slow. Stickers covered the laptop and the Squip walked over, running his fingers over the stickers. Jeremy watched him, feeling a tugging in his stomach.

The Squip moved away from the desk, walking deeper into the room. He looked at the posters and drawings on the wall and Jeremy saw a little smile form. Then, he looked out the window as if first realizing how dark it was outside, and moved over to the bed. “Should we..go to bed?” he asked softly. Jeremy’s eyes shifted to the bed, and he felt the tugging feeling in his stomach get stronger as he realized something awful.

His mother expected them to sleep in the same room, and of course, Jeremy only had one bed.

But of course, she expected them to sleep in the same bed. They were supposed to be dating, after all.

Jeremy swallowed, looking back up at the Squip, who seemed to be thinking about the same thing.

Jeremy looked away. “Yeah.”

They both silently got into bed, and Jeremy turned so his back was facing the Squip. He heard him shift and could feel the Squip’s eyes on the back of his head. Neither of them said anything.

——–

The next morning, Jeremy woke up to the sound of footsteps. He slowly opened his eyes, propping himself up with his elbows, and saw the Squip walking around the room. His hair was wet and slicked back like he had just gotten out of the shower and ran his fingers through his hair. He wore a blue button-up shirt, and - god, his shirt was all the way unbuttoned. He looked over at Jeremy and he quickly grabbed the open ends of his shirt, his cheeks going pink.

“I- sorry, I..didn’t know you were up.”

“It’s fine,” Jeremy said quickly. He pried his eyes away from the Squip’s chest. “You..took a shower?”

“Yeah. Your mother suggested it, and it’s not like I’m going to be like, ‘actually, I prefer to smell, thanks for the offer though’,” he said, starting to button up his shirt.

Jeremy snorted - actually  _laughed_  at something the Squip said. He regretted it instantly. He fell silent, and the Squip scrambled for something to rid the room of the awkward silence.

“Uh, anyways! Your mother also told me she wanted to tell everyone her plans for the week. So I guess she wants us to be busy and not just lounging around the house.”

“Yeah.” Jeremy wanted to say more - he..was starting to feel  _comfortable_  around the Squip - but he reminded himself that he didn’t like the Squip and the “relationship” they had was just pretend. So he left it at “yeah”.

“At breakfast, she said,” the Squip continued, running his fingers through his hair as he walked from the desk to the door and back. “She told me she wanted everyone’s opinion so we can all have fun.”

“Great.” Jeremy tried to enunciate the underwhelmed tone in his voice. He sat up, pushing the blankets off his legs. “I’m just going to change my clothes.”

“Okay.” The Squip leaned against the desk chair, finishing with the final buttons at the top of his shirt.

“Uh..can you leave?”

“Oh.” His cheeks heated up again. “Right.” He opened his mouth to say something else, then decided against it and rushed out without another word. Jeremy changed, then left the room and was greeted by his family at the table, plus the Squip, who did not seem particularly inclined to greet him.

As Jeremy sat down, Mrs. Heere began to announce her plan. “So, I was thinking that we could have a pool day, and another day we can have a movie night, and we can go to an amusement park.” Sam raised his hand and she said, “Sam, you don’t have to raise your hand.”

“Can we play video games one day?”

“Sure.”

He turned to the Squip, wearing a big grin. “The Jason, will you play video games with me?”

The Squip smiled. “Of course.”

“Does anyone else have any additions?” Mrs. Heere asked. She looked around expectantly, but no one said anything. “Okay, well, we can use that for now.” She pulled out her phone. “It’s going to rain tomorrow, so we can do the movie and video games tomorrow. And then the day after we can do the amusement park, and after that the pool day, because that’s when it’ll be the warmest. Sound good?”

Mr. Heere made a noise of agreement and everyone chatted through breakfast (which Jeremy was glad was shorter than dinner). Once they were finished, Mrs. Heere sent Jeremy to do the dishes. He actually didn’t mind it - he was alone and he got to feel warm water on his hands. It was kind of relaxing, actually, and less of a duty.

As he was washing the dishes, the Squip sidled up to him, leaning against the counter. “Hey, Jer.”

Jeremy turned his head sharply, shutting off the water. “Don’t call me ‘Jer’,” he hissed. “Unless it’s in front of my family. When we’re alone, I’m ‘Jeremy’.”

The Squip’s eyes went wide. He looked hurt. Jeremy felt an uncomfortable tugging at his stomach.

“Did you have something to say?” Jeremy asked, turning the water back on and going back to the dishes.

“Forget it.” The Squip stormed off, down the hall and up the stairs. Jeremy sighed and bit his lip. Maybe he could’ve been nicer about that.

But why did the Squip deserve for him to be nice to him? It’s not like the Squip ever did anything nice to him. Jeremy huffed and went back to work.

Once he finished, he moved into the living room. Sam was on his back on the floor in front of the TV, holding a controller high in the air. “No! No! Save me! Help!” He shrieked, rolling around. At the couch sat the Squip and Jay.

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” the Squip said, mashing buttons on his controller.

“I’m dead,” Jay said with a sigh. “I’ll try to help when I come back.”

Jeremy moved over to them, sitting on the arm of the couch. “What’re you guys playing?”

“Overwatch,” Jay said, eyes narrowed at the TV.

“I can’t believe you have  _three_  TVs,” the Squip said. “That’s really cool.”

“Yeah.” Jay shrugged. “Overwatch isn’t split-screen, so it’s nice to have more TVs.”

“No!” Sam yelled, collapsing in a heap on the floor. “The Jason, you didn’t save me!”

“I’m sorry, I tried!”

The round finished quickly and the Squip stood up, turning to Jeremy. “Can I talk to you?”

“Uh, sure.”

The Squip took hold of Jeremy’s wrist, leading him into the hall. He suddenly moved close to him and Jeremy pressed himself against the wall. Their faces were inches apart, the Squip speaking in a soft, low tone.

“Look. If we’re going to pretend to be dating, you can’t completely hate me. I’m not saying we have to be best friends, but we have to be at least a little bit closer so our fake relationship is more convincing.” Jeremy took a shallow breath, the skin on his face almost overwhelmingly hot. “That’s all I was trying to do. Does that make sense?”

“Y-yeah.” Jeremy nodded slowly.

“Okay.” The Squip moved back from the wall and walked back to the living room, leaving Jeremy alone in the hall.

——–

Jeremy spent the rest of the day doing mindless activities around the house, attempting to forget about the interaction with the Squip. His instinct was to get into bed and try to fall asleep as fast as possible without having to talk to the Squip, but he remembered what he had said and decided against it. He sat down at the foot of the bed, waiting for the Squip to finish changing.

The bathroom door clicked and creaked open, the Squip walking out. He wore a pair of dark blue sweatpants, and…

Jeremy felt his jaw drop ever so slightly, his eyes widening and his cheeks turning red.

He wasn’t wearing a shirt.

If Jeremy thought the Squip couldn’t be more of a paragon, he proved him wrong. Jeremy had assumed he would be well-built, and he saw a peek of it that morning, but seeing him with his shirt all the way off was _much_  better. He was the perfect in between of too muscular and not muscular enough. Defined muscles poked up from his waistband to form a  _V_  - all the hot movie stars had that - and he was completely hairless. His turquoise eyes darted around, from Jeremy to the wall to the floor to Jeremy.

“If..we’re going to have a pool day,” he started, moving closer to Jeremy, “I figured you should see me shirtless so you don’t have.. _this_  kind of reaction in front of your family.” He put his hand under Jeremy’s chin and pushed his jaw up, closing his mouth.

“That..that makes sense.” Jeremy looked away, biting his lip.

“So..I should probably see you shirtless as well, yes?” the Squip suggested.

“Um, no, it’s not really…” Jeremy hesitated, scratching the back of his head. “It’s not like it’s anything impressive.”

“That’s an opinion,” the Squip said simply, taking a step closer.

“It’s more of a fact.”

“Let me tell you, Jeremy, you are being  _very_  troublesome right now. Take off your shirt.”

Jeremy felt his face flush and he sighed, finally giving in. “Fine.” He quickly pulled off his shirt, avoiding eye contact with the Squip. They stayed quiet, Jeremy staring at the wall, until he felt warm fingers on his ribs. His eyes snapped back to the Squip.

“W-woah.” His body moved closer to the Squip’s touch without his control.

“You should probably get used to me touching you as well.”

“W-what do you think we’re going to do, have sex in front of my family?”

The Squip snorted, pulling his hands away. “Of course not. But if you flinch when I accidentally brush my hand against yours, your family will find that strange.” He moved over to the side, pulling back the blankets and climbing into bed. Jeremy pushed back the blankets on his side with his feet, then pulled them back over his body. Jeremy rolled onto his side and the Squip moved close to him. The two were close, very close, possibly inches apart, but they weren’t touching and Jeremy hated it.

And then he realized something.

Jeremy  _wanted_  the Squip to touch him.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> My first Squipemy fanfiction!! Feedback would be greatly appreciated. What do you want to see in the next chapter? What did you enjoy? Stuff like that would be great. Thanks for reading!


End file.
